Early Prostate Cancer Antigen 2 (EPCA2)

EPCA-2) is a protein of which blood levels are elevated in prostate cancer. It appears to provide more accuracy in identifying early prostate cancer than the standard prostate cancer marker, PSA."EPCA-2" is not the name of a gene. EPCA-2 gets its name because it is the second prostate cancer marker identified by the research team. This earlier marker was previously known as "EPCA", but is now called "EPCA-1".

The steady decrease in prostate cancer mortality is indirect evidence that the early detection using serum PSA and rectal examination saves lives. However using serum PSA in screening for prostate cancer remains controversial, because of its low specificity. Leman, Getzenberg and colleagues describe, in the April 2007 issue of Urology, the performance characteristic of EPCA-2, a novel nuclear protein marker for prostate cancer cells.